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He reveals that in the minors Mahaffey cared only about his numbers. “He didn’t root for other guys to win, because he thought they might take his job,” Green said.

This happens in rookie and A ball and in AAA. I saw pitchers laughing in the bullpen when fellow hurlers were getting shelled. And it happens again in AAA, where one injury or luck can make you a major leaguer. It got so bad on some teams (wife fueled) that players were jealous when infielders were called up and their spouse was an outfielder.

AA was heaven - you weed out the marginal players, if someone comes down from AAA their careers are over and if someone is promoted to AAA there is no angst (and fewer married players) as they still have to prove themselves before reaching the majors.

Perhaps Dallas was jealous of Art, who was three years younger and was viewed as a prospect by the Phillies? Did Dallas think the games Mahaffey pitched should have been HIS innings - or stats - and was concerned?

When Green was managing the Mets in the 1990s, he'd usually greet the media sitting in his office dressed in what I would call "old man long johns." Struck me as weird at the time, but I guess guys from his era did that.

Also at the end of '64, Mauch had to choose between shortening the rotation because beyond Bunning and Short, he had a hurt Art Mahaffey -- < 1.0 K/BB ratio; only started a dozen games or so after 1964; the incredibly meh youngster Dennis Bennett and 18/19 yo Rick Wise. Ray Culp was out hurt.

Bunning was so burned out from overwork that he pitched a SO vs. the Reds on the last game of the season. Had the Cards lost that day, there would have a 3-way tie amongst the Reds, Cards and Phils.

He reveals that in the minors Mahaffey cared only about his numbers. “He didn’t root for other guys to win, because he thought they might take his job,” Green said.

This happens in rookie and A ball and in AAA.

And everywhere else, too. The most spontaneous exhibit of sheer joy I ever witnessed in my life was when one of my college GF's found out (from me) that one of her best friends (a former GF of mine) had only gotten a C on a test that she (my GF) had also had trouble with. She lit up like a ####### lantern and just said, "OH, YAY!"---and she couldn't figure out why I couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the day.

Bunning was so burned out from overwork that he pitched a SO vs. the Reds on the last game of the season.

not sure you're being facetious or what the pt is. He pitched the last game of the season on 3 days rest owing to two off days near the end. He was pitching on two days rest in both the 7th and 10th games of the losing streak. Both of those starts he got bombed on short rest. ANd it's not like he needed to push the panic button they were still ahead until Sunday the day Bunning went on two days rest the first time. A more patient approach might have tanked one game in order to have a fresher Bunning and Short, they still had 6 games left and basically tied, why push the panic button right then? With only a game or two left in the season I could see it, but there they still had to go through the rotation another 1-2 times...

I have no idea what Mauch was like as a manager and I wish people could fill it in with more stories. It seems to me he was a very intelligent guy most of the time, but he maybe he just got lost his composure at times?

Sunday, good points on Bunning, I was being a bit of a snot. And in one of those blowouts, the blowhard came in and poured gas on the fire (5 runs in less than two innings).

Mauch was a very active manager in his Phillies days, with platoons and substitutions and mixing and matching. He was tough, demanding, expected the team to do all the little things right. The 1964 team was not viewed as a contender. Yes they got Bunning and the team had been on the rise since the dreadful 1961 season. There were 2 great position players, Callison and the rookie Allen. Gonzalez and Dalrymple were above average players (not sure if they were specifically in '64 but both had solid track records). The middle infield was a muddle but at least were good defensively. Wes Covington provided some platoon pop. The bullpen was pretty good. Bunning and Short were fine pitchers, but Culp and Mahaffey were hurting and the back of the rotation was suspect at best. Somehow Mauch pushed the right buttons, mixed in the right proportions of eye of newt and wolf's bane into his magic pot and got that team in the position to have a big, big letdown.

Nothing like being 13 when something like this happens. It left scars that only healed with the 2008 WS. (1980 only healed the scars of 1976-1979).

it looks like they lost a bunch of close games at the end of the week, games 3-6, including an extra innings game that must have done a number on their bullpen. Shantz in particular blew a couple from what I recall. At that pt. it looks like Mauch just went into panic mode but did they burn out the rest of the starters in bullpen use or something?

I have no idea what Mauch was like as a manager and I wish people could fill it in with more stories.

Philadelphia was before my time and I can't remember Montreal, but I lived just outside the twin cities when he managed in Minnesota and was a pretty obsessive fan when he was managing the Angels.

One of the quirks about Mauch was his obsession with the double play. He would have his middle infielders cheat up the middle more than usual and wanted the pitcher to pitch to contact. On the offensive side, particularly late in his career, he was a total outlier for the number of 'little ball' ploys used. He bunted much, much more frequently and hit and ran a lot. All of which could circle back to wanting to avoid the DP.

As I have said before, the real point of note here isn't that the Phillies collapsed at the end; it's that they managed to have 90 wins and a 6 1/2 game lead with two weeks to go. Allen and Callison were virtually the entire offense for much of the season, and they had basically three reliable starters (two once Bennett was hurt) and two reliable relievers. Mauch squeezed as much out of this team as he could, but the season was just two weeks too long.